


A Whole New Light

by twoplayer_gays1031



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: (lots of it), Abusive Relationships, Alternate Universe - Stripper/Exotic Dancer, Café, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Hunay, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Shadam, Single Parents, Slow Burn, Violence, klance, pallura, veraxca
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-10 09:07:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27848222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twoplayer_gays1031/pseuds/twoplayer_gays1031
Summary: When someone just walks into your life and saves you, what do you do?Struggling simply with living, Keith Kogane finds himself searching for an excuse to get people off his back about how lonely he’s been forced to make himself.And Lance McClain is trying to support himself and his small family in any way he possibly can, disregarding the dreams he abandoned five years ago.Complete strangers grow to find comfort in one another, their lives forever changed because of a single day that neither of them thought could hold any importance. And yet here they are.So what happens when you find the light that’s calling you home?
Relationships: Acxa/Veronica (Voltron), Adam/Shiro (Voltron), Allura/Pidge | Katie Holt, Hunay - Relationship, Hunk/Shay (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron), Keith/Lotor (Voltron), Klance - Relationship, Pallura - Relationship, Shadam - Relationship, Veraxca - Relationship
Kudos: 12





	A Whole New Light

There was a lot of noise here. Noise, and dim lighting. The place was multiple shades of faded colors, mostly a deep purple color, illuminating faceless people, and barstools, a relatively vacant bar, and an empty stage. Though the place wasn’t super packed, the talking and the music made it seem like a bit more than someone like Keith could handle. He wasn’t exactly proud to be here, but if it meant getting his family off his back…

The place smelled like booze, and there were some people at the counter, so that was probably the most ideal place to go? Even before Keith could try to do what he came here for… he might as well get a drink. 

As he approached the counter in the corner of the large room, making his way around tables that were only half-filled with people, Keith looked around and took in more of the place. There really was too much noise… He turned his attention back to the bar, the counter itself looking dirty. Keith ignored that though, sitting down at a barstool and looking around for a bartender. He glanced to the left, pausing when saw two men behind the counter, one of which was handling the drinks, and another face-down on the counter, resting his head on his arms. Keith raised an eyebrow at that. And yeah, he stared for what was probably a bit too long. 

Curiosity got the better of him-- Keith wanted to know why he was so tired.

Still, he ignored that urge and brought his elbows up onto the counter, placing his head in his hands. This really was a bad idea, wasn’t it? It was going to backfire horribly.

“Hey there,” A warm, slightly friendly voice made Keith look up. It was the guy who had been handling the drinks. The bartender grinned, his warm skin and round face making him look kind enough. Even with the dim lighting, his black shirt with the club logo could be seen. “What can I get for you?” The bartender asked.

Keith saw the other guy lift his head, looking over at him and the bartender. Keith glanced down at the counter again as he saw the guy look at him with a raised eyebrow. Keith shook his head slightly, focusing back on the bartender, “Hi. Uhm…” He smiled slightly, trying to be polite, “Could I just get something… strong?” Not really drinking much doesn’t give you very much insight into what to actually _say,_ it seems. That, as well as just being completely incompetent with all communication in general anyway.

“Yeah?” The bartender said, “You’re dressed pretty damn fancy for a strip club though. You look like you’re about to go to some sort of fancy-person cocktail party,” He spoke as he started to pour Keith his drink, “Not sure why you’re here, or why you’d want to get wasted, but it’s not my job to ask the customers questions.” He finished up and placed the drink down on the counter, “There ya go. I’ll charge you at the end of the night,” He offered with a smile.

Oh… yeah. Keith hadn’t even thought about his clothes. That’s just how his family usually preferred he dressed in public. For their image and whatever… Though as the bartender kept speaking, Keith smiled awkwardly, not really knowing what to say, “Well… I mean, I’m not really trying to get _wasted_ but I just feel like-- it would help… but I don’t know why I’m even--” He cut himself off, looking down, “I’m… yeah,” He took a breath and looked down. He couldn’t make conversation with strangers like this, “Thanks,” he said to the bartender, looking back up just to thank him before he brought his attention back to the counter, taking a sip. He coughed slightly at the feeling. He hasn’t drank in a while.

He hated being here, but… he just had to keep at it. This was fine. He just needed to find someone… He just needed a break from everything his parents always said about settling down. Just for a little bit.

As Keith was looking down, he went unaware of the bartender and the guy behind the counter’s shared glance. After a shared look, the bartender faced Keith again, leaning on the counter slightly, asking Keith, “So what are you here for?”

Keith looked up as he spoke, “I don't… even know anymore,” It was hard not to doubt this. It was probably a mistake to even open up but… “My stupid family wants me to find a significant other because of their beliefs about ‘settling down’ and ‘finding a family’ and it’s just infuriating…” His eyebrows furrowed as he took another sip, placing his cup down to speak again, “I was going to just ask someone to pretend but now that I think of it no one is going to and I’m just… I don’t even know why I’m here,” He admitted, looking back down. Though he glanced back up at the bartender, speaking a little more nervously, “It’s fine though, you just need to do your job and I’m probably bothering you…” He sucked in a breath, looking away. Keith hated how bad he was at _talking_ to people.

“Well, if you came here to find that person, you’re still going to have to pay,” The bartender noted, “You’re still taking them away from work, so…” Keith was going to respond but… he paused as he saw as the bartender looking at him, like he was analyzing him… and after a few seconds, he looked over to the other guy behind the counter, speaking quieter, “Lance, hold on a sec, I’ll be right back.”

And then the bartender walked over to the other side of the counter and gestured for Keith to follow. Keith glanced back at the tired-looking boy behind the counter, who’s name was apparently Lance, before Keith followed after the bartender.

Over on this side of the counter, the bartender sat down at a small desk, tucked underneath the high counters. As he turned on the old-looking computer that sat on the desk, the dim white light of the screen flickered on, standing out amongst the dark purple lighting in the rest of the place. It illuminated the bartender's face, as well as the top of the desk littered with objects like pens and pencils, sticky notes, a tape dispenser, and a small, dingy register. Keith watched as the bartender stood in front of him.

“Alright, you can pay here. If you’re here for… getting a fake significant other...” the bartender shook his head slightly, chuckling after he spoke, like it was ridiculous, which… yeah, it definitely was, “Then I’m guessing you know that this place also has escorts. Word gets around quickly, I guess. Everyone who works here is an escort except for like, me, the bosses, and the janitors, obviously. We have a list with pictures if you’d like to see them, but I’m sure that doesn’t matter much, since you aren’t even going to have sex with whoever you pick,” The bartender shook his head slightly, laughing a bit. Keith looked back down at the counter as he saw that.

The bartender sat at the computer before he looked back up at Keith, “So, I need your name and how many hours you need.”

People actually did this often? They had a whole system for it? Keith felt his eyebrows furrow in worry, because he had this sinking feeling that he was doing something wrong just by being here. “Uh…” He looked back up, “My name is Keith Kogane, and… I guess for like… a day or two?” He spoke, and he hated how nervous he sounded. He didn't actually need that much time, but Keith had seen how tired that guy behind the counter looked. These people were probably exhausted so… maybe a break would be good for whoever he chose.

“Woah, Kogane? Like… the rich business people law firm family? Huh…” The bartender looked surprised as he typed something on the computer. Keith sunk down in his seat a little bit. He hated being recognized by his name. The bartender kept speaking as he typed, “Well… a day or two? Do you have accommodations so that they could stay with you for that time?”

“Yeah…” Keith responded, “They could stay with me unless they wanted to go back home and rest where they’re comfortable. I mean, I don’t mind them going home. But if they didn’t want to then they could stay with me since I have… a lot of room,” The words at the end of his sentence tapered off, getting quieter as Keith felt worse and worse with every second he spent here.

Still… his damn curiosity. Keith found himself glancing back at the boy behind the counter, and he eventually turned to the bartender, speaking up quietly, “I have a question though... “ He gestured over at the boy behind the counter, “What’s his story? He seems so tired…”

“Oh uh…” The bartender looked uncomfortable, his eyebrows furrowed as he glanced back at the boy behind the counter, and then back at Keith, “I’m not exactly allowed to give out any personal information of the workers. And he’s a friend of mine, so… He’s just been working all day.” The bartender moved on quickly, changing the topic before Keith could even respond, “So, here’s the list and pictures of who you can choose from,” he said, handing him a piece of paper, “For the two days, it’s going to cost you a lot of money. It’ll be about $1,250.”

Keith looked down at the paper for a few seconds, scanning his eyes over the page without really taking in any of the faces or names. Instead, he glanced back at the boy behind the counter, and then at the bartender. Would either of them be upset with him if he… “Would he be upset if I chose him?” Keith found himself asking quietly, pointing in the direction of the tired-looking man, “He looks like he could use a break, at least…” He hated how he could hear the awkwardness and hesitation in his own voice. It was made even worse by the bartender narrowing his eyes at Keith.

“I don’t know really,” Keith spoke quickly, wanting to make up for whatever caused the bartender to look at him with that expression. He looked down, taking his wallet out and picking out his card, handing it over and keeping his eyes down as he said, “I don’t want someone to hate me if I choose them for this…”

The bartender still had his eyes narrowed as he took the card, but after a few seconds, his expression softened just a tiny bit, and it was barely even noticeable, but Keith picked up on it. He listened as the bartender spoke quietly, considering Keith’s words, “He does need a break…” and he glanced down for second before looking back up at Keith, “So you want to pick Lance, then?”

It was obvious to Keith that this bartender still didn’t look very trusting of him, seeming very protective of Lance, but… he was probably protective of everyone here, so Keith didn’t say anything about it. He just said, “Yeah, I’ll pick him,” cringing at how he worded it… like he was picking out an animal at a shelter or something. It felt weird… and definitely wrong. Lance was human, and so was everyone else here.

“Okay…” The bartender murmured, but he spoke up as he spoke his next words, “When do you need him? Tonight? Tomorrow?” He sounded a little bit more insistent here, just a tiny change in his voice. Like this question was important in some way. Keith realized he had tilted his head slightly in curiosity, and he quickly corrected it, focusing back on the bartender’s words instead of worrying about pointless social cues.

“Just tomorrow night really…” Keith faltered, still feeling awkward about this whole thing, “I’m just having a family dinner tomorrow and he would have to be there for that. Then he could leave and just… yeah. He could take like the rest of the day off since I paid for tonight and tomorrow right?” Keith really was hoping to give him a break, “But if he wants to stay for a bit that’s fine…? If he has any roommates or pets or something they could stay too,” Keith fidgeted slightly, feeling like his discomfort was evident in every movement he made and every word he said. He was trying to be hospitable, by offering that but he doubts someone would actually want to stay.

“Yeah no, it’s just Lance,” The bartender spoke rather quickly, a bit too quickly. But before Keith could even think about it too much, the bartender asked, “Alright, so basically just tomorrow night?”

“Uh… yeah, just tomorrow night,” Keith said, fidgeting with his hands a little, “Thank you for helping me uh…” he smiled awkwardly, gesturing at the computer a bit, “With _that_ …” He finished, “Sorry if this is weird, I’ve never done something like this and it’s probably a stupid idea but still…” He trailed off quietly, looking up at the bartender.

He let out a small laugh, “Oh yeah, it’s real stupid,” The bartender said with a small chuckle, standing up from his seat, “But it’s not bad. It’s definitely better than what most people ask for,” He smiled a bit at that, seemingly a little more trusting of Keith, but not by much, “Here, I’ll go get Lance and you two can talk this out and plan it a little better.”

When the bartender said he’d go get Lance, Keith felt his eyes widen a bit, a feeling of slight panic in his stomach, “Alright… thank you,” he responded anyway, not wanting to make this any worse. He sat down on a chair nearby, still fidgeting with his hands a bit.

“Guess what, bud,” Lance heard Hunk say, and he lifted his head curiously to hear what he had to say. Lance had been resting his head on the counter obviously, just… exhausted. He raised an eyebrow as he saw Hunk point back at the weird customer who was dressed super fancy for a place like this, and he looked back at Hunk, hearing him say, “That guy just paid for your next two months of rent.”

Lance grinned, “Oh hell yes. So what does he want, then?” He had basically zoned out during the guy’s nervous rant earlier, so Lance didn’t even know yet.

“Well, you’re going to meet up with him tomorrow night-- here, I’ll let him explain. Come on,” Hunk led Lance over to the counter where Keith was seated.

Once Lance got there, he leaned on the counter, resting his forearms on it and leaning towards the customer, smiling the way he usually had to smile at customers, “So, what’s the plan for tomorrow night then?” He asked.

Keith blinked, a little thrown off by that smile. He could tell how forced it seemed… so Keith glanced down for a second before he looked back up at Lance, saying, “Well basically… um… you’re going to come over and you’re going to pretend to be my boyfriend…?” Then you could either stay the night if you’re tired or you could leave, whatever works for you… if that’s fine?” 

Keith could see the confusion on Lance’s face, how his fake smile had dropped and was instead replaced with a slight frown, raised eyebrows and look of confusion and surprise, like he was trying to piece all of this together. So Keith elaborated, “I know working here is probably really tiring enough and this is more of _my_ problem that I shouldn’t really be putting on anyone, but… yeah…” His sentence trailed off.

“Oh…” Lance said, still looking extremely confused, “Huh. Yeah… that’s fine. And yeah, working here is pretty tiring, but it’s nice to get a break like this?” Every small movement Lance did, his expressions and the tone of his voice just gave away how completely and utterly ridiculous he thought this was. Keith could tell, even if he was a complete stranger. Keith shrunk back a little bit in his seat.

“I thought it would be nice to have a break… you seem like you need it?” He spoke hesitantly, a soft smile on his face, “You can go wherever you want for tonight, but I’m guessing you probably just want to go home. I’m not asking anything of you except to come over tomorrow for a family dinner I have going on. And other than that, you’re free to just… do whatever you want for the time I paid for,” He finished with a small shrug. Keith put out his hand, “I’m Keith. Keith Kogane… by the way.”

Somehow Lance’s eyes widened a bit more, and he glanced down at Keith’s outstretched hand for a second before he hesitantly brought his hand up, looking confused, but not necessarily upset. He shook Keith’s hand, “Uh, Lance McClain.” He seemed to think for a moment about the other things Keith had said before he continued, “And… I’ll go back home for tonight. Thank you…”

Keith nodded, taking his hand away and asking awkwardly, “Uh… is there a certain thing you want there? I can make sure I’ll have it for you when you get there,” He offered, smiling awkwardly, “Like a certain food or something? Or anything I could do to make you more comfortable…? Also, are you allergic to dogs?”

Lance looked curious as Keith rambled, but he had a small smile as he responded, “No, I’m not allergic… and I’m sure I’ll be fine with whatever’s there,” He still sounded a little confused, and he definitely looked confused, “So I’m going to… meet your family or something?”

“Yeah, just meeting my family,” Keith said, “And uh… you seem confused. I’m sorry this is probably weird.”

Lance chuckled slightly, his smile still looking a little awkward, but at least it wasn’t forced, “No, no… I’m-- well, okay yeah I’m confused,” He admitted, “But just because things like this don’t happen. Thanks for thinking it through though, I guess? But we should probably meet up beforehand just to like… get our story straight and whatnot.”

“Yeah, uhm…” Keith let out a small, nervous laugh, “Where would you want to meet? I can get us lunch or something if you’re hungry?” His voice quirked up at the end, making him sound hesitant and uncertain. Keith internally cursed himself for making all of this even more uncomfortable just by speaking. At least Lance didn’t seem too phased by it?

“I… uh, yeah that should be fine. We can meet up at wherever dinner’s gonna be. And we can get lunch?” He looked hesitant. Lance was very expressive, Keith noticed. It was like Keith could tell just how… abnormal all of this was to him, just by the look of confusion on Lance’s face.

Keith ignored that for now, or at least tried to, instead focusing on just getting through this mess of a conversation, “You could come over and I can cook if you want? So we don’t have to go multiple places… I have a dog you might like?” His voice did that stupid thing again, going up in pitch and making him sound as awkward as he was trying so hard not to be. 

“Yeah,” Lance said, his smile growing a bit, “You mentioned it with the whole allergies thing,” He seemed a bit more comfortable now, looking down at the counter before he looked back up at Keith, “I’m sure I’ll like the dog.” His awkward smile quirking up a tiny bit as he mentioned the dog, still making Lance seem uncomfortable, but genuine in the small amount of happiness Keith could pick up on.

Keith watched curiously as he saw Lance turn to look at the bartender, who had been listening to that entire trainwreck of a conversation. The glance they shared was barely a second long, but Keith could tell they were thinking _something,_ though he had no clue what. It was like some secret code was being shared. He glanced down at the counter, not wanting to interrupt. Though his attention was brought back up when he saw Lance move to grab something, a sticky note and a pen. He placed it down on the counter and started scrawling some numbers down before he handed it to Keith.

“There, now we can talk about meeting up,” Lance said, giving him a smile that looked a lot less forced. 

Keith looked down at the sticky note in surprise, looking back up at Lance and before he reached out to take the note, “Okay… I’ll send you the address when I get home,” He said, standing up and looking at the bartender. He still didn't know his name. “Can I pay for the drink now?” He asked hesitantly. He felt like these people would be talking about him once he leaves, and honestly, Keith definitely wouldn't blame them.

“I charged you when I had you pay a few minutes ago,” The bartender stated, “You’re good to go,” He was smiling though, and he appeared to find this situation completely ridiculous.

“Oh! I didn’t know-- I’m uh… I’ll see you tomorrow Lance,” Keith said awkwardly. He saw that Lance had been looking at him with curiosity, but Keith didn’t question that, instead just wanting to escape from the awkward situation. He gave a small wave to the two men once he was a small distance away, walking back through the tables and the people, the talking and the music still seeming way too loud.

Lance watched as he went, still a little confused about exactly what in the hell just happened. When the doors closed behind Keith, Lance turned back to look at Hunk, cracking a smile and letting out a small laugh. Hunk did the same. This was probably the weirdest thing they’ve ever had happen here. And it felt nice to laugh about something here. Lance usually never had much reason to smile while he was at work.

“Well, he paid for tonight,” Hunk said, smiling, “So we could go tell Rolo you totally have a real appointment and you could just head home.”

Lance felt excitement bubble up inside him at that, letting out a small sigh of relief. He nodded, “Yeah, I’ll get my stuff and you could go let him know?” Gosh, Lance barely got time off. So this was… this was nice. He could finally get a decent night’s sleep. And he had nowhere to be early in the morning tomorrow either.

And that’s exactly what happened. Lance went to the back to grab his stuff. Thankfully his last performance of the day was about an hour ago, so he had already changed into clothes that were a bit more comfortable. He pulled on his hoodie, sighing a bit as he did so. It felt nice to just feel… comfortable again. He grabbed his keys and his phone, shoving them into his pocket before he waited outside of Rolo’s office for Hunk. Lance never really liked going in there anyway.

Within a minute, Hunk stepped out and he let Lance know he was cleared to go to his “appointment.” Lance smiled, giving Hunk a hug goodbye before he headed out the back and to his car.

He breathed in the fresh air. It would get cold soon but… it was nice now. Here in California, the cold practically never came, but by comparison to Cuba, Lance knew it would get pretty cold, at least to him, in the next few months. As he headed to his car, he ignored any thoughts of today, just like usual. Except he obviously thought about Keith. What was possibly the strangest customer Lance had ever seen at Club Daibazaal had just walked right in and… asked for _that_.

But this could be fun, right? Having a small break for once… he could spend most of tomorrow at home. But it would be interesting to pretend to date someone. He’s been on a few dates in his life, but never long enough to meet someone’s family. And now he had to pretend to be that in love with a stranger?

Well, it might not be as difficult Lance thought. It’s not like it would be the first time he’s acted in love when it’s far from the reality of the situation.

He sighed as he opened his car door and climbed in, starting the old vehicle and beginning his drive back home. It was only 11:36. Usually Lance never got to leave before 2:00 in the morning.

A few minutes into the drive, Lance heard his phone chime with a message, his screen lighting up the inside of his car for a few seconds. Lance glanced down at the screen and saw it was an unknown number, so… probably Keith. He focused back on the road, nearing his apartment building. So Lance had more important things to worry about, anyway.

He headed inside the place, the brick exterior never something too interesting to look at. The beige walls of the lobby and the old carpets the same. He headed down the lobby, peeking his head around the corner to check if the elevator was working. He frowned when he saw one of those electrical workers who were working on it, so… that was a no. He headed over to the stairs and began to climb up.

Gosh he hated stairs. Once he was at the top he let out a small sigh. Despite the high floor Lance had chosen for his apartment, he didn’t regret the room he had been able to get. The view made climbing stairs more than worth it. But the view wasn’t even close to being the best thing waiting for him in his apartment.

He headed for his door, past the beige hallways and yellow lights, turning the slightly rusted key in the doorknob. He grinned as he heard the pounding of little footsteps come from the living room and down the small hallway that led up to the door.

“Hey there, princess!” Lance said excitedly, his tiredness fading the second he saw her, a large grin on his face. She jumped into his arms and he hugged her, happy to see her after such a long day.

Only five years old, Ginny had to stand on her tiptoes to wrap her arms around Lance’s neck in a hug when he knelt on the ground to hug her. Time went by way too quickly, and Lance was doing everything he could for her. Everything. Coming home to see her smile was the best part of every single day. It made everything worth it.

“You’re home early!” She squealed, wrapping her arms around Lance tighter, the same wide, happy grin on her face as she usually had, “You have a good day at work, dad?”

“Yeah, as usual,” Lance’s smile dropped slightly, though. He obviously tried to keep Ginny unaware of what he does, not wanting her to know so early in life. He would have to tell her eventually but… he just wasn’t ready for that. He probably wouldn’t be for years. 

Before she could respond, Lance picked her up, standing and carrying her to her room. Ginny laughed happily, keeping her arms around her dad’s neck in a hug. Lance placed her in bed, tucking her in with her yellow bumblebee sheets before he headed over and grabbed a book off the shelf to read to her.

He usually got home late, and Ginny would always stay up for him. He tried so hard to tell her to get to bed earlier, not wanting her to stay up that late, but… Ginny was stubborn. She always waited for him to get home and read a bedtime story to her and say goodnight.

Merely five pages into the story, and Ginny was out cold. Lance sighed, smiling down at her. He stood, gave her a kiss on the forehead, and placed the book down before he headed out of her room and into his own. 

Once there, he got changed and flopped down onto the bed, finally opening his phone to see what messages he got, because he remembered how he got that message from an unknown number earlier.

_[this is Keith]_ the message said, followed by his address. 

Well okay then, Lance rolled his eyes, straight to the point, it seems. Lance sent back a message.

_[thanks, goodnight]_

And a few seconds later, he got a message back.

_[you’re welcome, goodnight Lance]_

Lance read the message, of course, but he fell asleep quickly. He was exhausted after today, like he was with any day he worked. But at least the knowledge that he would get to spend the day with Ginny tomorrow, even despite the whole… dinner ordeal he had to deal with… well, it was enough to make everything okay.

**Author's Note:**

> So, this fic is based on a roleplay with someone I met on Amino. She doesn't have an AO3 account, but her username on the Klance amino is samurai. 
> 
> We started this story a couple months ago, and I felt like sharing it here and posting it as a fic. (much like my last fic, but still)
> 
> I hope y'all enjoy!


End file.
